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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: row · track · swing · cap · bank · cold · stock · jam

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — shares
  3. bank — of a river
  4. row — a line
  5. cap — a hat
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. bank — for money
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bank — for money
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cap — a lid
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cold — not warm
  19. swing — in golf
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. swing — music
  22. track — a path
  23. swing — to play on
  24. row — to paddle

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com